"How many attacked?" After seeing the king comforting both wives and the remaining women, Cadmus looked at Arthur beside him and asked in a calm tone. The blood on Rhaegar's clothes and Arthur's armor showed that there had been a fight.
"About fifty, a small army fully armed with steel armor and swords." Arthur looked at Cadmus with a grateful gaze. If Cadmus hadn't been present, this celebration would have ended in a great disaster.
Cadmus looked at Arthur in shock and asked with a skeptical and incredulous tone. "Are you saying that an army of fifty fully armed men was hidden nearby and no one saw anything, not even a suspicious movement?"
Arthur's face was grim; just as Cadmus said, such a large group of people, fully armed and hidden nearby, was completely insane. No one was blind, and such a massive movement of people could not go unnoticed.
"We are waiting for the Master of Whisperers' report." Arthur said in a calm tone, but there was an unmistakable coldness in his voice. Not only him, but it was a look that all the Kingsguard around also displayed.
"It seems Tywin really wants to make things as chaotic as possible." Cadmus said, looking at the king with a deep gaze. He could imagine how furious Rhaegar would be if Lyanna or Ellia had died at that moment.
"Does he want to force the king to attack and gain the initiative of the war? But no one is foolish enough to fall into such an obvious trap." Cadmus asked with a curious tone. Even if Rhaegar were forced to march towards the Rock, no one would be foolish enough to go to the Westerlands knowing there was an ambush.
"If it really is Tywin, I have to say he is truly a monster to use his own relatives, especially when his heir, son, daughter, and grandchildren are present at this moment. If something happened, the main line of House Lannister would disappear." The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Gerold Hightower, spoke in a calm tone.
"It's likely not Tywin." Cadmus shook his head; if there was one thing Tywin cared about, it was House Lannister itself. Without descendants, House Lannister would simply cease to exist, at least the main line.
"If it's not Tywin, who is bold enough to orchestrate such a large assassination and offend all the nobles present?" Lewyn Martell, Kingsguard and brother of Doran Martell, spoke with a confused tone. The Dornish prince looked exactly like a Dornishman: olive skin, black hair and eyes. He had a beard around his face and looked courteous and handsome.
"Who knows, but the mastermind will eventually appear; after all, he wants something." Cadmus was not worried about finding out who it was; whoever it was would eventually reveal themselves.
"Gentlemen, I have work to do; I will extract information from these two human wastes." Cadmus said with a smile as he grabbed both assassins by the collars. "I advise you not to get too close to the dungeon, or you will hear quite frightening screams."
The Kingsguard looked at each other, and they all felt shivers running down their bodies; they did not doubt for a minute that Cadmus could inflict pain on someone.
Cadmus didn't know what the Kingsguard was thinking; he arrived at the dungeons below Harrenhal and had to admit, Harren the Black was crazy; even the dungeon seemed to be used to torture and imprison giants.
With a wave of his hand, the chains attached to the walls looked like snakes, wrapping around the limbs of the two assassins, lifting them into the air.
"Look, I'm quite gentle, so I'll give you a chance." Cadmus spoke as he put black gloves on both hands; he looked at both assassins with a calm gaze. "You tell me who the mastermind was, and I will give you a quick and painless death."
After a minute of silence, Cadmus knew that the assassins would not reveal anything unless they suffered a little. "I am quite reluctant to use dark magic; they are quite invasive to the mage's own mind. Unfortunately, you are not giving me a choice."
"Gentlemen, there are three unforgivable curses in magic, one of which is exactly what I am about to perform on you." Cadmus said in a calm tone. He pointed his glove-covered finger at the first assassin and whispered.
"Crucio."
There was no flash of light when the magic was performed, only the purest sound of horror reverberating off the dark, damp walls of the cell.
"ARHGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!"
"AGURHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"KILL ME!!!!"
"KILL ME!!!!"
"KILL ME!!!!"
The assassin didn't even last ten seconds before begging for death. He thrashed, the chains clanging, screaming a high, loud sound.
The second assassin had an expression of pure horror and fear. Both were assassins who were trained to remain firm and indifferent to torture, but his companion simply started screaming in ten seconds. Not even when they were children did he hear his comrade-in-arms scream like that.
Cadmus stopped and asked again. "Who is the mastermind?"
The tortured assassin raised his head with difficulty and looked directly into Cadmus's eyes; there was fear in his gaze, but he remained silent.
"I admire people like you." Cadmus said, but he raised his hand again. "Crucio."
"ARHGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!"
"AGURHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The screams sounded again as the assassin thrashed; blood ran from his wrists, but he didn't seem to feel anything but the pain of the Crucio. Which was normal; the Crucio simply caused the pain the person feared the most; it was such a terrifying magic that the creator was a total madman.
Thirty seconds later, Cadmus stopped again; he looked at the assassin, who was now unconscious, with a calm gaze. With a movement of his hand, a ball of water formed around the assassin's head.
Five seconds later, the assassin woke up, but Cadmus did not undo the ball of water, which naturally began to drown the assassin. When he saw that the assassin was about to lose consciousness again, Cadmus stopped and undid the ball of water.
"I can't use Crucio on you repeatedly; after all, you will become demented if I continue, but don't think I'm not creative." Cadmus commented as he approached the assassin. He couldn't use Crucio on the assassin, or he would either die or become mentally ill.
The mage took a vial from his pouch and made the assassin drink the liquid against his will.
"It's an itching potion, harmless, but when the dose is high, well... it will be a little uncomfortable, my dear friend." Cadmus said with a smile, but that smile looked scarier than a demon coming from hell.
The assassin's exhausted eyes widened, feeling the itch all over his body. He wanted to scratch, but his hands and feet were bound by the chains, which made things even worse for him. He thrashed as his eyes turned red from all the pain and anger he was feeling.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOUR WHOLE FAMILY!!!"
"IT ITCHES, DAMMIT!!!!"
Cadmus didn't show much reaction to the insults; he waved his hand, and the ball of water reappeared around the assassin's head.
Itching, drowning, pain, and heat.
Cadmus began to use magic and potions to undermine the assassin's will. Honestly, he could extract information much easier using Imperius, but this magic was quite ineffective against people with strong wills, so he had to torture the assassin before he could perform Imperius.
Half an hour later, Cadmus was about to continue but stopped when he saw that the assassin was not moving. Approaching, he understood that the assassin had completely died, which confused him, as he had perfectly controlled the strength of his spells.
"I forgot that the human mind has a pain limit..." Cadmus muttered to himself with a quite dissatisfied tone.
Looking at the second assassin, who was trembling with pure terror in his expression, Cadmus said in a gentle tone. "Fortunately, I have another chance to hone my techniques."
Seeing that the demon was looking at him, the second assassin screamed loudly, his voice so shaky that if Cadmus hadn't listened again, he wouldn't have understood a word. "I'll talk!!!"
"If you had cooperated from the beginning, you wouldn't have seen anything scary or suffered any pain." Cadmus said with a smile. "However, I only believe in my magic."
"Imperius!" Cadmus cast the magic instantly.
The assassin's expression changed from pure terror to a serene and gentle expression.
Unlike the Cruciatus Curse, being targeted by the Imperius Curse, when cast properly, was not an unpleasant experience; in fact, it was the opposite. The victim of an Imperius Curse was placed in a calm, trance-like state, in which all feelings of responsibility and anxiety were banished.
"Who was the mastermind?" Cadmus asked with a smile.
"I don't know; he arrived at our organization in Pentos and bought the deaths of Queen Ellia and Lyanna." The assassin did not hesitate to answer with a gentle and warm tone, as if he were talking to a long-time friend.
"Any special features or smell?" Cadmus continued to ask. He was not particularly surprised by the assassin's words.
However, the next words surprised him.
"The man had a thick, aged voice, perhaps around fifty years old, but he smelled of lavender, lilac, or rose water."
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Note: If anyone figures out who it is from this simple paragraph, I just have to say that you are a true fan of A Song of Ice and Fire.
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/GOTSW
Read my other books:
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos (500,000 words written).
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard